Research at Kingsley Centre

2006, by Helen Dayson, Chief Executive

2006 was a challenging year for the Organisation requiring commitment, dedication and at times infinite patience of the part of those endeavouring to ensure we continue to meet our Charitable purpose and quality of service to those with whom we work, primarily disabled people and their communities. There were two significant events for the Organisation in 2006:The New Year saw West Berkshire Council giving notice that our five year contract with them would not be renewed when it came to an end in March 2007, one to one support would be taken in-house and only minimum contract value, £160,000 would be honoured effective from April 2006. With West Berkshire Council’s decision arising from plans to restructure their Learning Disability Services, it was a fait accompli which had implication both for the short-term and long-term sustainability of the Organisation, not least the overall financial impact, was the West Berkshire contract being a significant income stream. However, more poignantly it was also an indication for us as an Organisation of the changing landscape of Social Care and the delivery of services; fewer block contracts and an emphasis on self directed support and individual budgets. These are initiatives which as an Organisation we welcome, but also acknowledge that we have to both develop and market our services to meet this new challenge. Due to an immediate significant reduction in income as well as the impending end of our five-year contract, we recognised that redundancies would be necessary during both 2006 and early 2007. Additionally, a decision would have to be made as to whether we were going to be able to continue to provide a service in Berkshire post contract. In response we developed and implemented an exit strategy, which sadly did include making roles redundant and as a consequence we had to say goodbye to two valuable members of the staff team. However, the strategy also looked positively towards a future developing a change management programme, which supported staff but also enabled us to work with participants to ensure that they had both choice and control throughout the change process. As a consequence of this work 17 participants chose to continue to receive a service from the Kingsley Organisation and in response we decided to continue to provide services in Berkshire post contract from April 2007. It was only through the dedication and creative thinking on the part of all staff involved that we were able to turn what was a difficult period in the life of the Organisation into both a positive and learning experience. Additionally, we experienced this piece of work as an excellent example of good partnership working with dedicated staff teams from Kingsley Organisation and West Berkshire Council, embracing both ethical working and person centred approaches. In contrast February 2006 was a time for celebration as the Organisation learnt that they had been successful in their Big Lottery application for £260.000 for the Kingsley Centre Building Project. However, there was no complacency as the Trustees acknowledged that not only did they have to raise the additional monies of £65,000 before the Lottery grant would be released but also that both money and the project would have to be monitored carefully and within Charity law and good practice. Additionally there was the requirement of an 80-year charge on the freehold of the Kingsley Centre, which was felt by Trustees to be excessive. This requirement was challenged and although it was acknowledged by the Lottery that this would appear to be rather a ‘sledgehammer to crack a nut’ is was a requirement which the Trustees ultimately agreed too. Through the concerted efforts of staff, volunteers and participants, which often included having lots of fun, we achieved our fundraising goal by December 2006 and the Lottery agreed to release the bulk of the funding. This was an enormous achievement, one which means that by September 2007 we shall have a wonderful accessible community building, a place fit for purpose which we can all enjoy and use to its full potential. These two events were the most significant for the Organisation in 2006 and have naturally been the dominant issues for everyone including participants, staff, volunteers and the communities affected by such ‘big’ events. However, throughout 2006 we have, as evidenced by this review, continued across the Organisation to provide environments in which individuals have been enabled to achieve greater control, choice and independence and as we approach our 20^th birthday in 2007, we feel we are well placed to continue this work against a continuing back drop of change not least the challenges set out in recent governmental white papers.

	Review of 2006
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	2006, by Helen Dayson, Chief Executive 2006 was a challenging year for the Organisation requiring commitment, dedication and at times infinite patience of the part of those endeavouring to ensure we continue to meet our Charitable purpose and quality of service to those with whom we work, primarily disabled people and their communities. There were two significant events for the Organisation in 2006:The New Year saw West Berkshire Council giving notice that our five year contract with them would not be renewed when it came to an end in March 2007, one to one support would be taken in-house and only minimum contract value, £160,000 would be honoured effective from April 2006. With West Berkshire Council’s decision arising from plans to restructure their Learning Disability Services, it was a fait accompli which had implication both for the short-term and long-term sustainability of the Organisation, not least the overall financial impact, was the West Berkshire contract being a significant income stream. However, more poignantly it was also an indication for us as an Organisation of the changing landscape of Social Care and the delivery of services; fewer block contracts and an emphasis on self directed support and individual budgets. These are initiatives which as an Organisation we welcome, but also acknowledge that we have to both develop and market our services to meet this new challenge. Due to an immediate significant reduction in income as well as the impending end of our five-year contract, we recognised that redundancies would be necessary during both 2006 and early 2007. Additionally, a decision would have to be made as to whether we were going to be able to continue to provide a service in Berkshire post contract. In response we developed and implemented an exit strategy, which sadly did include making roles redundant and as a consequence we had to say goodbye to two valuable members of the staff team. However, the strategy also looked positively towards a future developing a change management programme, which supported staff but also enabled us to work with participants to ensure that they had both choice and control throughout the change process. As a consequence of this work 17 participants chose to continue to receive a service from the Kingsley Organisation and in response we decided to continue to provide services in Berkshire post contract from April 2007. It was only through the dedication and creative thinking on the part of all staff involved that we were able to turn what was a difficult period in the life of the Organisation into both a positive and learning experience. Additionally, we experienced this piece of work as an excellent example of good partnership working with dedicated staff teams from Kingsley Organisation and West Berkshire Council, embracing both ethical working and person centred approaches. In contrast February 2006 was a time for celebration as the Organisation learnt that they had been successful in their Big Lottery application for £260.000 for the Kingsley Centre Building Project. However, there was no complacency as the Trustees acknowledged that not only did they have to raise the additional monies of £65,000 before the Lottery grant would be released but also that both money and the project would have to be monitored carefully and within Charity law and good practice. Additionally there was the requirement of an 80-year charge on the freehold of the Kingsley Centre, which was felt by Trustees to be excessive. This requirement was challenged and although it was acknowledged by the Lottery that this would appear to be rather a ‘sledgehammer to crack a nut’ is was a requirement which the Trustees ultimately agreed too. Through the concerted efforts of staff, volunteers and participants, which often included having lots of fun, we achieved our fundraising goal by December 2006 and the Lottery agreed to release the bulk of the funding. This was an enormous achievement, one which means that by September 2007 we shall have a wonderful accessible community building, a place fit for purpose which we can all enjoy and use to its full potential. These two events were the most significant for the Organisation in 2006 and have naturally been the dominant issues for everyone including participants, staff, volunteers and the communities affected by such ‘big’ events. However, throughout 2006 we have, as evidenced by this review, continued across the Organisation to provide environments in which individuals have been enabled to achieve greater control, choice and independence and as we approach our 20^th birthday in 2007, we feel we are well placed to continue this work against a continuing back drop of change not least the challenges set out in recent governmental white papers.